Lantern-bracket.



H. J. HJORTH.

LANTERN BRACKET.

APPLICATION men mm: 14. 1913.

Patented May 16,1916.

FFT.

HENRICK J. HJoRTri, or wanna-N, MASSACHUSETTS.

sas 'r I K LANTERN-BRACKET.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pari entgd ltiay 16, 1915,

Serial No. 773,746.

Application filed June 14, 1913.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRICK J. HJORTH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of lVoburn, in the county of MiddleseX and State of Massachusetts, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Lantern-Brackets, of which the following is a specification. p

This invention relates to a bracket designed particularly to be mounted upon a pole or support, such as theflag staff of a boat. Consequently the device may be described in full as being a stern-light holder for motor boatsadapted to be mounted on the flag stafi of such a boat. To this end the lantern holder combines boththe means for holding a lantern and also a guide or an eye for a block through which the flag halyards may be rove.

The preferred form of device is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a side elevation. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the socket member of the bracket and an elevation of the butt end of the bracket arm. Fig. 3'is a top plan view of the socket alone. Fig. 4. is a rear elevation of the socket removed from the pole, and showing the bracket arm in dotted lines. Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the guard for the bracket holder.

he same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings (t represents a part of the flag staff which is usually mounted at the stern of a. boat, or it may be any other sort of spar or post whereon it is desirable to hang a lantern. For the purposes of this description, however, it will be assumed that it is the flag staff of a motor boat. On the rear side of the staff is mounted a socket member 6 having a flange a shaped to fit about the staff and having lugs cl, e through which attaching or fastening means, such as screws f or the like are driven into the stafi.

The bracket arm is indicated at g, and it has at one end a hook it equipped with a guard 71, and at the other end or butt, it has a foot or stem j adapted to be received in the socket member, and equipped with a latch is. The socket of the member 6 is a passage extending from end to end of the socket member and open at both ends. Fig. 3 shows that in the form illustrated the passage is square in cross section. The foot or stem j is similarly shaped and has an easy sliding fit in the socket, being prevented by its formation from turning.

The latch It is preferably a spring strip the stem 7' over a longitudinal groove Z (the inner wall of which is shown by dotted lines in Fig. l) in the stem. The lower part of the latch is offset to form a shoulder m, shown also in dotted lines in Fig. 4. This shoulder is so placed that when the stem is fully inserted in the socket, the shoulder underlies the lower edge of the socket housing, thereby retaining the bracket arm against jumping out of the socket. depth of the groove Z is sufficient to permit retraction of the latch far enough to free its shoulder from the socket housing, the latch entering the slot when its exposed lower end is pressed back. Then the bracket arm may e readily removed.

Insertion of the bracket stem in the socket ismade easy because the latch projects beyond the end of the stem and is provided below its shoulder m with an inwardly inclined tail a, which is retracted by the side of the socket when the bracket stem is inserted therein, causing the latch to enter the groove far enough to be no impediment to the insertion of the bracket stem. hen the bracket has been inserted as far as it will go into the socket member, the latchemerges from the lower end of the socket passage, and its shoulder springs out under the edge of the adjacent side of the housing. The lower edge of the housing constitutes an abutment, which abutment and the latch shoulder also constitute cooperating shoulders or looking elements by which the removable bracket arm is retained in place in the socket member, with sufficient security to prevent accidental displacement. According to whether these shoulders are square or inclined, the bracket is locked positively or yieldingly.

d i is a piece pivotally attached by a rivet or the like 0 to the bracket arm at the base of the hook portion h and having its end 2" formed as a reversed hook adapted to overlap the end of the hook 72 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The adjacent sides of either the hook it or the guard z or both may be flattened and their overlapping ends may he slid in contact so as to make the guard fit closely to the hook and form with the latter a complete eye adapted to hold'the bail or loop of a lanriveted or otherwise fastened to the side of 5 The tern. The guard 2' also has a finger p underlying the bracket arm and limiting its pivotal movement bet'wee'ri the two extreme positions shown respectively in full and dotted lines in Fig. 1.

N The socket member has a lug 9 provided with ah eye '5 through which the flag halyards may be rove directly or in which a pulley block may be hung for the flag halyards;

In the daytime the arm 9 carrying the lantern may be removed entirely from the socket and stowed away, leaving the socket on the flag pole to serve as the upper support for the halyards, \Vhen it becomes necessary to show a light at the ster i of the boat the lantern is first hung upon the hook of the bracket arm and secured by the guard, and the arm is then mounted in the socket meinber b. The mounting of the bracket may b'e accoinplished by the single motion of one hand, and so may the dismountin'g if the latch shoulder is made so inclined as to be retracted by pressing against the wall of the socket when ah upw'ard force is applied to thebracket. Y

My ae'vi'ceaaerds a holder by which the lantern may be held at such a distance from the flag staii" thatit camfot swing against, it, and one which may be mounted and dismounted with great ease.

Although I have designed the holder particularly for mounting a lanternat the stern of "a meter boat on the flag stafi usually provided, I as hot liihf t the invention to that particular use or to the combihation of the holder. with a ri staff, in all of my claifns, but ,inte'nd to incl'ude within the scdpe of thy broader "claims, a holder adaptcame; a: an patent am Hi anaemia iive befits each, by addressing the ed to be mounted otherwise and to serve other purposes.

WVhat l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A lantern holder comprising a socket member having a housing and a passage extending through said housing and open from end to end, a bracket arm, a stem projecting transversely from said arm and formed to fit said passage, having a groove in one side, and a spring latch mounted on the side of said stem over said groove, adapted to enter said groove and having an outwardly ofiset shoulder arranged to underlie the edge of said housing when said stem is in the passage of the latter.

'2. A lantern holder, comprising a socket member havihg a housing and a passage extending through said housing and open.

from end to end, a bracket arm, a stem pro: jecting transversely from said arm and formed to fit said passage, having a groove in one side, and a Spring latch mounted on the side of said stem over said groove, adapted to enter said groove and having an outwar-(11y offset shoulder arranged tounderlie the edge of said housing when said stem is in the passage of the latter, said bracket armhaving a hook, and a guard pivoted to said arin at the base of said hook having its end curved oppositely to the hook ant arranged to be so placed as to overlap the hook end and form with the latter an eye.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my "signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRICK J. HJORTH. Withesses I Airrrinu H. BROWN, P. WV. Pnzzn'r'ri.

Withihztoii, ID. 0. 

